I grew up in Northern California and there wasn’t a day that went by that I didn’t have to hear about Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, Ronnie Lott and eventually Steve Young. Everyday. Every damn day.

It made me hate the 49ers. I spent each Sunday rooting for the “whiners” to lose… unfortunately all they did was win.

I hated them so much, I decided to pick another team to root for. A team no one else that I knew rooted for. That’s how I ended up becoming a Tampa Bay Buccaneers fan.

I’ve been to every Bucs game in San Francisco for the past 10 years only to see them lose (I missed last years game, and of course we won). I saw Terrell Owens take a 5 yard out pass 75 yards for a TD. I saw some guy named Cody Picket, beat Chris Simms thanks to Joe Nedney’s five field goals. I saw Jeff Garcia lose to a bad 49ers team. It’s been brutal. Combine my hatred for the 49ers and the history of Tampa in San Francisco and you can see why I don’t feel good about this upcoming weekend.

I wrote last week the Bucs always lose a game they should win. I don’t know if this is it, only because I’m not sure the Bucs should win this game (don’t get me wrong I think they can and will, but it’s not a gimme). The 49ers have played well this season, and without giving up a big play to a reality TV wide receiver they’d be 4-0. This team corralled Michael Vick and the Eagles to mount a great comeback and might have one of the best front 7 in football.

Still…

Their QB is still Alex Smith. I don’t trust him. He hasn’t been good… ever. He has a good game here and there, but there’s no consistency. Maybe it’s not all his fault (the WRs aren’t exactly amazing), but then again he’s had plenty of chances. He’s the weakness of this team and will ultimately cost them games.

And let’s not discount the 49ers have been a little lucky. It took two kick returns from Ted Ginn for them to beat Seattle. They won ugly against the Bengals. Melted down against the Cowboys and lost. And needed the Eagles to just completely come apart (and miss two game-clinching field goals) to win.

You could make many of the same arguments about the Bucs. But here’s my counter. We barely lost to a good Lions team, made a good comeback against the Vikings (they didn’t melt down, we just played a great second half), beat a decent Falcons team, and won ugly against the Colts.

Ultimately…

I think the Bucs are the better team here. While the 49ers have been good against the run, they haven’t faced a runner like LeGarrett Blount. The 49ers secondary isn’t great, so hopefully Josh Freeman and Mike Williams can get on track. And our defensive line should be able to keep Alex Smith on the run.

If we can do those things… I think the Bucs win. Then again, I think the 49ers are good enough, that if the Bucs start slow we could get behind and not be able to come back.

It wouldn’t matter if this 49ers team was the worst NFL team ever… I still wouldn’t feel good about playing them.